First Time Buyer
Ah, the decision to purchase your first home – it’s exciting, isn’t it? No more landlords, you can now paint the walls any color you want and you can even finally get the dog you’ve always wanted.
While these are all fabulous reasons to get excited, it’s important to not get swept away. The home purchase process is just that: a process, with clearly defined steps to take if you want to be successful.
The initial steps aren’t quite as fun as hopping into the car or onto the Internet to look at homes for sale, but they’re vital to the process.
Search now for homes in the area.
Are you Ready to Buy a House?
It’s not enough to be emotionally ready for the purchase – the financial aspects of buying a home need to be considered. Some of these include the following:
- How’s your job security? Sure, lenders require two years on the job or in the same line of work, but how many years can you safely look forward to holding your job? If your job security is tenuous, you may want to hold off on buying a house until you have a brighter employment outlook
- How’s your credit? Even if you plan on using a government-backed loan you’ll need to satisfy the lender with a decent credit score. Keep in mind as well that the lower your score, the pricier the loan.
- Do you have the money to buy a home? You’ll need to pay an earnest money deposit to the seller and a down payment and closing costs to the lender. Yes, FHA and others have very low down payment requirements but remember, you’ll have a monthly private mortgage insurance payment on top of your house payment if you put down less than 20 percent.
- Do you have the funds on reserve to maintain a home? Remember, you will no longer have a landlord to pay for the leaky roof or the appliance that needs to be replaced. All the financial aspects of keeping up with a home will now fall to you.
How much House can you afford?
Only a lender can tell you how much money you can spend on a home and it doesn’t make sense to shop for homes until you have this figure.
So, once you’ve determined that you’re ready to buy a home, it’s time to find a lender and get pre-approved for a loan.
Rosa Agency Can Help
If you’ve determined that you’re emotionally and financially ready to buy your first home we congratulate you. Our real estate team is ready to help you make your dream a reality.
Contact us for more information about first time home purchasing.